


calls of sea salt

by blueaces, dreamiesficfest



Series: Dear Dream - Dreamies Fic Fest (Second Wave) [11]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe- Urban fantasy, M/M, Sirens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-24 08:51:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18568006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueaces/pseuds/blueaces, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamiesficfest/pseuds/dreamiesficfest
Summary: Prompt Number: #DD077What good outcome is there when two modern sirens try to charm each other like there’s no tomorrow?





	calls of sea salt

**Author's Note:**

> Notes from the Author: To the prompter, I hope you enjoy it! I’m not completely satisfied by my writing, but this was still really fun to write uwu

Reedy sound waves Donghyuck knows far too well reach him down below the sea where he sleeps, rousing him out of his dreams. Moonie, the moon jellyfish that stuck around since before Donghyuck’s tail developed any color, hovers above his face, giving him a good look of the underside of Moonie as water gently flows around his head. Donghyuck would be content to stare up at the circular shapes he thought resembled a four-leaf clover at the top of his bell if it wasn’t for the continuous garble of a siren’s song traveling through the waters.

 

The water ripples as he huffs, disturbing Moonie’s peaceful disposition. Shooting him an apologetic look, Donghyuck swims to the entrance of his room, but not before Moonie gives him a small zap on the arm.  It’s payback for treating him roughly, and also a reminder to be careful. With a peace sign back at Moonie, he exits and begins to swim towards the source of the noise, bracing himself for the spectacle sure to come.

 

Donghyuck breaks the surface glaring up at Renjun who’s laid out on his favorite rock with KunKun, the faint banded sea snake rather fond of Renjun after saving him from an irritated electric eel. The smile on his face is kind, but Donghyuck is not deceived since the despiteful runt does this every Saturday and he _knows_  Donghyuck likes to sleep in.

 

“Jaemin asked me to sing for him.” The pixie is nodding eagerly from where he sits adjacent to Renjun, smiling broadly enough for the sunlight to glint off his teeth. Donghyuck doesn’t know what bothers him more; the bright white of Jaemin’s teeth or the familiar shimmer of sunshine yellow scales on Renjun’s tail.

 

“Hey-o Donghyuck!” Jaemin must notice the annoyance on his face (damn pixies and their oddly perceptive selves) because he chooses to say, “Sleep on the wrong side of the current?”

 

Donghyuck scoffs, but gazes around curiously, aiming to feign worry to throw Jaemin off his track. “Oh where’s Jisung? You two are practically joined at the hip.” He brings up a finger to tap at his chin. “Maybe… you should go make sure he’s not stuck in another thorny bush somewhere.” Immediately, Jaemin perks up at that, his wings beginning to flutter frantically and lift him off his perch. Muttering, “Jisung’s in trouble?” Jaemin’s leaf green tinged skin pulsates vibrantly before he takes off, leaving a fine dust as his being grows smaller to allow for a faster speed to his destination of _Jisung_ , wherever that is.

 

Donghyuck hears Renjun sigh and he turns back with a grin to see Renjun pinching the bridge of his nose, tail lightly flapping down. “You didn’t have to worry Jaemin like that. You know how gullible pixies are.”

 

“Precisely why I did as such. I wanted to get you alone.”

 

Now Renjun is smiling _his_  stupidly bright smile, and Donghyuck already regrets his words. “If you wanted me to sing for you instead so badly, you should’ve just said so.” Clearing his throat, Renjun hums a small tune, Donghyuck recognizes as one of the songs sirens sang for their children, starting out soft before opening his mouth and their mother tongue slips out, a reprieve from the awkward language humans liked to use. Maybe Donghyuck gets lost in the haunting low notes, transporting him back to a time when his mother would run a fish bone comb through his hair soothingly, calming him before bed. Maybe Donghyuck sways, sinking beneath the water until only his eyes are peeking out at Renjun, almost in a trance. _I_ _f this is how humans feel whenever they hear us sing_ , he thinks, maybe Donghyuck envies them. 

 

So far gone in his own thoughts, Donghyuck doesn't realize Renjun has stopped singing until he feels a boop on his nose, his gaze focusing on Renjun who's leaning inches away from his face. The smell of the sea stronger with Renjun so close, a scent that follows them, but one Donghyuck has come to love the most on Renjun.

 

“Did you enjoy the show?”

 

Leave it to Renjun to break the reverie with irksome words. Stupid Renjun and his stupid pretty voice that Donghyuck totally doesn't think about in his spare time. The one which grates on his ears with Renjun’s flawless tone and perfect pitch.

 

“As if. I was just thinking about how tone deaf Chenle sounds better than you.” In his mind, Donghyuck can practically hear Chenle screeching, as banshees do, and inwardly cringes. They both know he’s lying, proof in the amount of times Renjun sneaks into his room to lay in bed with him, soft crooning and hair caresses taking away the edge of the day. But of course, Renjun lets it go with only a bark of laughter, tail transforming to legs crisscrossed behind him. Renjun stands up and the rising sun is completely eclipsed by him, leftover scales visibly shining against his silhouette. Donghyuck wants to pluck them off, but he keeps his twitching hands to himself, underwater. 

 

“We should go. The others will be waiting for us.” Renjun offers his hand out to Donghyuck, ready to pull him up like he always does. And Donghyuck takes it, of course he would. He’d follow Renjun through the depths of the ocean if he asked him to.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Hey Donghyuck!” except now it's said lividly, enhanced by the angry buzz of his wings. “Jisung wasn't hurt! He was here at the lake with Chenle, perfectly unharmed!” They had barely reached the edge of the clearing before Jaemin flew over to meet them, eyebrows drawn in tightly. Even the trees seem to bend away from him, as if they know not to bother the fuming pixie.

 

A nervous laugh slips out of Donghyuck. “That's great! We all worry about him. Clumsy boy.” Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Renjun biting down on his lip to keep from smiling. Jaemin seems to fizzle out at that, his wings returning to the occasional flap to keep him hovering over the ground. 

 

“Good. As you should.”

 

Donghyuck sighs in relief. An angry Jaemin is a dangerous Jaemin. The last time someone messed with Jisung, Jeno came back late at night smelling of wet dog and missing a few claws. They never got anything out of Jeno besides the constant shaking of his head while Jaemin had a smile bordering on manic as Jisung tucked himself into his side.

 

The rest of the group is sitting by the bank, Mark the only one watching them over his shoulder. “What took you so long? Were you two swapping spit?” Donghyuck almost chokes on his, and then Renjun’s next words make him wish he did choke.

 

“Duh, it’s our favorite pastime, right Hyuckie?” and he knows Renjun can see right through him. Lay it on thick.

 

“I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my days.”

 

Jeno’s gagging in the background, but that doesn’t matter when Renjun is staring at Donghyuck with eyes that cut him open, peering directly into his lovesick brain dedicated completely to Renjun. It lasts for mere seconds before Chenle is calling for Renjun’s attention, something about the cashier at the ice cream shop, Jaehyun, being their reptilian overlord, but Donghyuck will feel the effects when it’s late at night and Moonie is the only being keeping him company. 

 

After being frozen in place still at the edge of the woods staring at the back of Renjun’s head, he notices Mark motioning him over, a small knowing smile on his face. Donghyuck averts his eyes, cheeks beginning to heat up as he walks on over to where they sit dangling their feet into the lake. Squeezing himself in between Mark and Jeno earns him a whine from the latter, Jeno slapping Donghyuck on his thigh as he lowers his feet into the cool water. It’s not sea water, but it does the trick better than most other sources of water, a quiet sigh let out into the air.

 

A typical summer morning with the breeze tickling their faces and curious fish swimming up to nip at their toes. Sometimes the naiads, Dejun and Guanheng, will poke their noses up above the water enough to communicate with him and Renjun, sonic waves vibrating the pads of their feet, but once the others try to speak to them, they submerge with sly smiles, whispers of _next time_  always meeting his mind. Yangyang the local forest gnome rarely stepped out from the shadows of the trees, and if he did, it was to hiss at them for getting too close to whatever object he was protecting. The occasional glow of yellow eyes indicated he watched from afar, wary of the usually boisterous teenagers.

 

Today, only the sprites present themselves as they always did, flitting about their heads and lightly pulling at their hair, forever intrigued by the soft textures. One lands on his knee, and Donghyuck watches it tap at his skin as the rest of the boys’ voices turn a bright buzz in the background. Through the lens of the sprite’s veiny, clear wings, the burnt orange sky transitions into the familiar cerulean blue beyond the clearing where he knows it dips down into a sheer drop, the ocean kissing the cliff’s ridges and taking pieces of it with them each time.

 

Donghyuck doesn’t realize he’s spaced out again until Mark is poking at his thigh, effectively scaring the sprite away, and he knows their time is up already. The precious twenty minutes of every weekday spent together before they all went their separate ways to their summer jobs gone between the whishing of air past sprites’ wings and light sprinkles of water droplets against his shins.

 

Mark stands up, stretching, and the others begrudgingly follow his lead. “I’m leaving first. Venus is very popular these days.” Donghyuck catches Renjun’s eye, an inquisitive look Renjun shrugs at, equally as puzzled. No one really knew what that meant or what Mark was, just that he wasn’t human, if the oddly placed comments and the fact he could disappear with the snap of his fingers were anything to go by.

 

He does as such, the boys barely able to raise their hands in farewell, and Mark returning the gesture right as he vanishes with an echoing crack. Jisung sighs, muttering, “He doesn’t have to do that. Some of us have to drive to our destinations,” then takes his keys out of his pockets, jangling the metal in front of them. “Let’s go, losers.” 

 

Jaemin is grinning that odd smile, the one covered in mischief, and grabs Jisung’s other hand to pull him in the direction of Jisung’s car. The rest glance at each other and slowly trail after them, hoping the smile was looking forward to his routine of sticking his head out the car window and not some strange plan he suddenly hatched that would put them all in danger, which wouldn’t be the first time.

 

Luckily, Renjun and Donghyuck were the first ones to be dropped off and only had to suffer through fifteen minutes of jerky stops and Jaemin’s perpetual cooing, Chenle growing visibly sicker from having to be present for both. Donghyuck offers a hand to his forehead, the cooling effect of the sea laced in his fingertips providing relief for a few seconds, Chenle smiling in thanks. There’s a yank on his other hand, pulling him away from the car and towards his slightly dreaded but still enjoyable job as a waterpark attendant. 

 

Despite knowing his aversion to all kinds of water but the sea, Renjun had somehow talked him into applying at their local waterpark, papers thrust into Donghyuck’s arms served alongside a plate of pleading puppy eyes (“C’mon Hyuck, we’ll get to be by water all day!” “And you couldn’t pick being a lifeguard at the beach?”). Damn those eyes and the smile following his reluctant agreement, Donghyuck could never say no to that, not when his heart nearly beats out of his chest every time. 

 

So for the last two weeks, Donghyuck’s been finding himself standing at the top of a tower guarding the spiraling slides or settled in the pool at the bottom, awaiting the splashes of children with irritated skin. Chlorine wasn’t the worst thing he could sit in, but after repeated occurrences, he was semi-permanently an angry red from the waist down, returning back to the ocean the only way to soothe himself. Call his sensitive skin dramatic because Renjun was doing just peachy, spending his allotted time swimming around the wave pool because the generated waves reminded him of the ones out at sea.

 

The only saving grace of working at the waterpark was the never-ending amazement kids had towards their tails. They marveled at the iridescent sheen of reds and oranges, asking to touch his sky any chance they got. He allowed them to indulge themselves, their water wrinkled fingers traveling up and down the scales, squealing when the scales shifted under their prodding. Some kids referred to him as Mr. Snake Sir, which he would usually take offense to, but they huddled in groups talking about how _cool_  it was to have a tail, assuaging the slight displeasure building in his shoulders.

 

By the time their shifts ended, the setting sun peaked out from behind the mountains surrounding the seaside town. Lacking a car, Renjun and Donghyuck make their trek to the ice cream parlor on foot, the breeze sweeping their tangled hair out of their faces. It’s not a long ways, but Donghyuck knows to savor the amount of times Renjun’s hand brushes past his in the few moments alone, the small smile on Renjun’s face going unnoticed.

 

Upon walking in, they are greeted by Chenle and Jisung talking up a storm about who in town was most likely a cryptid, Jaemin sitting with an arm slung around Jisung’s shoulders not quite as invested in the conversation as his boyfriend. Chenle gave up on the reptilian Jaehyun idea once he accidently heard Johnny saying “tell me I’m your favorite cryptid, baby” to Jaehyun, so naturally, he moved onto Johnny’s larger stature.

 

“Those long legs have to be used for like, propelling himself off of buildings or something… Mothman perhaps?” Jisung’s nodding along, his melon ice cream long forgotten and melted, Jaemin poking at the soupy mess with his own spoon to entertain himself. He perks up whenever the bell rings, signaling Jeno’s arrival, covered in fur that’s not his, as per usual, but deflates when Jeno barrels into him, squawking at the smell of dogs filling his senses.

 

Renjun and Donghyuck purposefully ignore the others, lost in their own world. Somehow, the topic of their sea animal counterparts arose, which was not a new event among the two.

 

“Give it up already, Moonie is the sweetest jellyfish, he wouldn’t harm a single fish.”

 

“As if that matters. At least KunKun can actually survive on land.” 

 

Gasping like Renjun just murdered Moonie, Donghyuck slaps his hands down on the table hard enough to jostle their glass cups of ice cream, absolutely insulted by the sudden attack on his beloved jellyfish. “You take that back!”

 

Renjun settles back into the green booth with a satisfied look on his face, arms crossed. “Sorry, can’t help that your precious Moonie is incapable of living up to KunKun’s immense power. Must be hard living in a snake’s shadow.” 

 

Donghyuck breathes in slowly and lets it out, hands reaching out to either strangle Renjun or steal his ice cream out of spite. But no one will ever know as there is a crack right next to Donghyuck’s ear, and Mark appears grinning with glitter covered cheeks and a pink aura perfumed by floral soap.

 

“Damn it, every time! Mark Lee!”

  
  
  
  
  
  


There’s this spot hidden away from the rest of the cove Donghyuck frequents quite often, a crevice between two slabs of earth that leads to a cave large enough to fit Donghyuck, Moonie, and a couple knick knacks he’s brought in from time to time to keep himself preoccupied. The floor is covered in sand free of debris, Donghyuck snuggling into the pleasant grainy feel as he watches the water mirror the sun’s rays from the small opening in the ceiling. He’s waiting for Renjun who went out searching with KunKun for loose bones and shells on the sea floor to make into jewelry, Moonie floating lazily by his hand.

 

Sleep almost takes over when the tranquil stillness is shattered by Renjun’s sonar call echoing in his head. He’s out of the cave in an instant, Moonie cradled in his hands as he rushes to the location where the frequency is radiating strongly from. Worry clouds his mind, knowing Renjun would only use sonar if it was a serious situation and the thought making him swim faster.

 

Minutes feel like centuries, but when he stumbles across a rather large group of sea nettle jellyfish and the frequency grows the strongest from directly in the middle of the jungle of long tentacles, he knows he’s in the right place. 

 

“Renjun!”

 

He waits for an answer and when none comes, the anxious feeling claws its way from his throat to his chest. Moonie must sense it because he taps Donghyuck’s chest a couple time then floats out of his hold towards the nearest sea nettle. Donghyuck holds his breath as Moonie seems to communicate to the other jellyfish, tentacles swaying in the water’s movement. The sea nettle turns around to face the others, 

 

Donghyuck guesses to relay the message Moonie gave, and slowly but surely, the jellies migrate north, revealing Renjun hovering near the ground. Kunkun is circling his body, prominent angry red welts on both of their skins.

 

Donghyuck hurries to them, carefully cradling Renjun’s head in his arms, calling out to him until he cracks open his eyes. He gazes around in question, croaking out his puzzlement about their whereabouts.

 

“You got stuck in a bloom of sea nettles. Moonie somehow convinced the jellyfish to leave.” 

 

Renjun’s mouth forms an ‘o’ and tries to move out of Donghyuck’s hold, wincing when he accidently hits a sting on his stomach. A flash of bone white near Renjun’s waist catches Donghyuck’s attention. “You had your knife on you…”

 

“I didn’t want to hurt them ‘cause they reminded me of Moonie.”    

 

Donghyuck’s expression softens for a second before he remembers the meaningless rivalry and the pretense he had to keep up. “Guess that makes Moonie the superior one in this situation.”

 

Renjun scoffs but doesn’t speak, too exhausted to put up a fight. An arm is tossed around his neck, Renjun leaning on Donghyuck for support. The journey back to the cove is a quiet one, only Renjun’s tired puffs of air bubbling out of his mouth breaking the atmosphere every few moments. 

 

Night falls as they reach the infirmary, Taeyong fretting about them as he takes Renjun’s vitals and starts applying cream to the stings. Donghyuck stays the entire time, leaving when he notices Renjun closing his eyes, allowing him to rest. It’s not long before low notes travel through the halls of the infirmary, bouncing off the reddish-brown rock hard enough to reach Donghyuck a few rooms down. Donghyuck would recognize Renjun’s voice anywhere, especially when it’s in the smoother siren’s language. He pauses by a door, straining to make out the words of the song. It’s unrecognizable, but he catches phrases like _rose red, nose flushed with love, the current flows only for you_ , and he shakes his head, uneasy at having heard a song most likely only meant for Renjun and the walls of his room. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


“I know this is how you guys flirt, but can you please make out already? Mark and I don’t know how much longer we can stand the tension.”

 

Jeno and Donghyuck are sitting at the dining table in Chenle’s home, watching Jisung pull ahead of Mark in Mario Kart, Jaemin cheering him on as he roughly shakes an increasingly dizzier Chenle. Renjun was outside in the pool entertaining the water sprites that had come to inhabit the pool. How they could stand the highly concentrated levels of chlorine was beyond Donghyuck, but he guesses there was something for everyone.

 

“Tension, what tension?” But Jeno is no fool, shooting him an exasperated glance, and Donghyuck is growing tired of the pining. “Have the kids noticed…”

 

“Chenle doesn’t care unless it involves cryptids and Jisung and Jaemin are too wrapped up in each other to notice.”

 

Silence ensues between the two, overlooked by the others entranced by the cars racing around a track through space, Jisung’s Princess Peach already on her third lap while Koopa Troopa hurtles towards Earth once again, Mark’s groans drowned out by the sounds of Jaemin’s loud whooping.

 

Jeno nudges him with his elbow, dragging him out of his thoughts. “Go out there. Catch yourself a fish.”

 

“Jeno, I’m going to kindly ask you never to speak again.”

 

Pointedly ignoring Jeno’s eye smile and waggling eyebrows, Donghyuck slides the door to the deck open, immediately met with the cool summer air. Laughter is heard from the far corner of the pool, and Donghyuck spots Renjun twirling a sprite in the palm of his hand by a finger. The sound of the door closing shut sends the sprite flying away, Renjun turning to see who interrupted his alone time with the sprites and waving when he realizes it’s Donghyuck.

 

“Donghyuck, come in! The water feels so nice!”

 

“It’s chlorinated, how nice can it be.” But he’s already slipping off his shoes and shirt, Renjun watching him intently enough to make him a tad nervous. Okay, maybe a lot nervous because he’s sliding on the slick tile surrounding the pool and falling in face first, the muffle of laughter breaking through the rushing water before he reemerges, and the laugh is full force, waves crashing down on rocky shores.

 

“You never did gain your land legs.”

 

Pouting, Donghyuck swims towards him with only his nose above the water, his tail pushing him forward until he’s directly in front of Renjun. He lowers himself to Donghyuck’s level, his eyes forming crescents from the smile hidden beneath the dark surface. Like he’s set out on a planned mission, Renjun grabs his hand and intertwines their fingers, shocking Donghyuck at the abrupt boldness. There’s intention as Renjun slides his tail against Donghyuck’s before wrapping the fin around his, bringing them closer. The breath is stuck in Donghyuck’s throat, Renjun catching the hitch and leaning his forehead on Donghyuck’s.

 

“How long?” It’s a whisper spoken in their mother tongue, barely a release of breath and water, but Donghyuck hears him loud and clear.

 

“When you barged into my room and slept on my bed for a full fourteen hours. Moonie had to keep stinging you to get you to move.” Yearning fills Renjun’s face because he knows how long it’s been. They were only children, growing into their own with newly colored tails to show off. Renjun swam around the cove for so long, showing off his sun to anyone who would let him, he crashed at the first place he came across. Donghyuck, having barely arrived from school, sat on a coral chair brushing out his hair when the tiny siren swam in mumbling something before settling on his bed. Tired Donghyuck didn’t have the heart to wake him up or push him off, so he leaned against the wall across from his bed, watching the peacefulness of someone who might be enthusiastic enough to hide how much energy it took out of him.

 

To the boy he first saw brush death, to the boy floating in front of him. His skin has already absorbed the chlorine, but the sea always overpowers, fresh and salty. Renjun, a force to be reckoned with, like the sea they come from. 

 

It was a given that Donghyuck always loved the sea.

 

Water swirls around their open mouths, the familiar perennial sensation welcome especially when Renjun kisses like time doesn’t matter. Sirens live longer than humans, longer than pixies and fairies, but not longer than werewolves and most definitely not longer than vampires. Renjun kisses like he’ll love Donghyuck through it all, for as long as they exist in this realm. 

 

“Oh, hell yeah! I totally called it!” They break apart to see Mark giddily jumping closer to the pool and Jeno trying to hold him down, smiling fondly at them. However, his outburst brings the rest of the kids out, Chenle trailing out behind Jaemin and Jisung. 

 

“Called what? 

 

“Renjun and Donghyuck! Yuta doesn’t call me his number one cupid for noth-“

 

A collective “You’re a cupid?!” resounds around the outside deck. Realizing their bewilderment, Mark has the sense to seem sheepish, scratching the back of his neck. 

 

“Yeah, guess I never mentioned it.”

 

“You guess?!”

 

Chenle steps around Jaemin and Jisung, bringing him to the edge of the pool and squats down, hands dangling between his legs. “While that’s great and all, -and trust me, this conversation isn’t over, Mark– there’s a more interesting matter at hand.” One hand comes up to point two fingers at Renjun and Donghyuck, who are still wrapped around each other. “You.” The fingers motion to Renjun. “And you.” To Donghyuck. “Especially you.” Back to Renjun. Chenle’s eyes are narrowed into a glare before he drops the façade and pouts, dragging out the last words. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

 

Renjun releases himself from Donghyuck’s grasp, swimming over to Chenle to poke at his chest fondly. “Because silly, intentional or not, you have the biggest mouth and I couldn’t have you slipping up.” Sighing, Chenle relents and sags forward, putting himself in perfect reach of Renjun and his arm slinging around Chenle’s neck. There’s a ruckus as Chenle struggles against his hold, the water sloshing over the sides, but a powerful beat of his tail propels Renjun backwards, successfully yanking Chenle in. He’s submerged for only a second and comes out screaming, high pitched and piercing, causing everyone else to jump in in the hopes of clapping a hand over his mouth.

 

In the chaos, Renjun somehow escapes past Jisung attempting to shove his fist into Chenle’s mouth while Jaemin eggs him on and is sidling up to Donghyuck from below, water dripping down the slopes of his cheeks. Donghyuck can’t help but stare at the droplets that seem to glow in the light of the deck’s lamps swinging overhead, in particular, the one trickling from his matted hair to the soft curve of his jawline. It’s no surprise Donghyuck’s hand has a mind of its own and comes up to brush away at the stray droplet, Renjun raising his eyebrows in question at the action. 

 

“If you want to kiss again, you’re going to have to wait until after the children are asleep.”

 

Donghyuck’s thumb presses into the flesh between his ear and jaw as he brings Renjun closer. “I’m sure it wouldn’t bother them. They already know it’s our favorite pastime.”

 

It tastes like sea salt.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/lunitataeil)   
>  [cc](https://curiouscat.me/blueaces)


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